Is it just too late? tips?

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I am bilingual. My daughter is 10, though, and I've never taughter her aside from the odd word or phrase.

Is it just too late to give it a good go? Can you give me some tips, guidelines, ideas? Can you point me to some good resources?

What do you think?

[Ester Maria]

What are you trying to do? Do you want to make her fully bilingual (including academics-wise), or "just" teach her that another language?

[Dani n Monies Mom]

While I don't know your goals for her, quite a few kids don't begin a 2nd language until 6th grade, so I'd say 10 is not too late.

God Bless,
Ava

[Brooke3193]

I was told by an expert in the area that age 12 is a "cut-off." By this, she meant that before 12, the child is able to hear and create sounds that adults are unable to hear (distinguish) or create. I believe it is also the age when people start to learn a new language in an adult way better than total immersion (which is how children best learn it). So, I'd say that you are not too late. :)

[elfgivas@yahoo.com]

go!go!go!

fast....

before puberty....

you can do it :001_smile:.

so can she :001_smile:

[Garga]

Not too late! Do the total immersion for half the day or something. What a great gift to give her. Do you know how HARD it is to learn a language when you don't have someone to talk to that uses it? She'll be able to practice with you non-stop. What a blessing.

[CleoQc]

Are you able to provide a full immersion soon? Like visiting whatever country the language is from, for about a month, next summer?

Work for a year on the language at home, then a full time immersion in the society that speaks that language. She'll become bilingual very quickly.

[Friederike in Persia]

When I was pregnant with our first daughter I went to the local library and got 3-4 books on how to raise children bilingually. Not everything was useful, but a lot of it was and I'm still refering back to it 11 years later. ;)

[CherylG]

...but, I didn't learn Spanish until I was in high school. I took 4 years of it. (ugh!) I am almost to my thirty year high-school reunion and was so surprised, three years ago when I went to Italy, how much I could understand and even communicate while traveling.
Enjoy! Her brain will still work after puberty...I have had all late bloomers. My 22 year old is "tri-lingual" and didn't start learning French and Italian until high-school when she started taking her classical singing more seriously. She is going to be using Italian for her honeymoon to Venice; but she also gets to use it and French in the hospital with visiting patients and family. The next language she wants to learn is Spanish. :)

[stripe]

It's never too late -- even if she is less than perfectly fluent in every way, shape or form, few bilinguals really are, and it'd sure be better to be semi-fluent than know nothing, so I say, go for it! :)

[Olga]

I started last year with 10 yo and 9 yo. First, they covered RS level one for three months (on-line) They didn't want to repeat phrases after me, but easily did it using the program. We watched cartoons while they were eating breakfast and lunch and started begining reading, and cursive writing. It was very hard. It is even harder now and sometimes I want to quit. I feel that my boys could move much faster in other academic areas, if we would not spend so much time on a second language...but... we continue.
We spent almost a year mastering cursive writing and basic readng. Now, a year later, we covered a two year curriculum. We are now 2-3 years behind, but we are making progress.
Right now, I divided our work into different parts: language art, vocabulary(10-20 word every day), reading and math. Plus, I am reading textbooks for upper grades out loud. Now I understand, what a mistake I made by not doing it earlier, but we don't have time machine, right?
Good luck!!!

[Olga]

Ops, we behind on L2 only, on L1 (English) little bit ahead.

[jenadina]

...but, I didn't learn Spanish until I was in high school. I took 4 years of it. (ugh!) I am almost to my thirty year high-school reunion and was so surprised, three years ago when I went to Italy, how much I could understand and even communicate while traveling.
Enjoy! Her brain will still work after puberty...I have had all late bloomers. My 22 year old is "tri-lingual" and didn't start learning French and Italian until high-school when she started taking her classical singing more seriously. She is going to be using Italian for her honeymoon to Venice; but she also gets to use it and French in the hospital with visiting patients and family. The next language she wants to learn is Spanish. :)
:iagree: While it may be easier to learn a language the younger you start, it's never too late. I took Spanish in highschool. When I moved to Mexico, it really didn't take very long to get comfortable living everyday life in Spanish. I didn't have any trouble distinguishing sounds.

[Renai]

...but, I didn't learn Spanish until I was in high school. I took 4 years of it. (ugh!) I am almost to my thirty year high-school reunion and was so surprised, three years ago when I went to Italy, how much I could understand and even communicate while traveling.
Enjoy! Her brain will still work after puberty...I have had all late bloomers. My 22 year old is "tri-lingual" and didn't start learning French and Italian until high-school when she started taking her classical singing more seriously. She is going to be using Italian for her honeymoon to Venice; but she also gets to use it and French in the hospital with visiting patients and family. The next language she wants to learn is Spanish. :)



I didn't learn Spanish until I was 25, and it was complete immersion. Years later, native speakers can't figure out where I'm from. I was in Germany betweeen the ages of 13-15, and years (many years) later, I still have an ear for it, and German natives say I have a good accent when I (if I?) speak it.

That "window" of 12 years old is a myth. If we wanted to get really technical, the real window would be around 12 months or so! (that's when some pathways or others start combining, or something, I don't remember the research). I don't see mission organizations sending children to learn the languages of unreached groups, they're all adults- and they do fine. That "12 year old window", I believe someone got that about getting the accent. But, in my experience, accent doesn't matter as much as being understood. Some people will speak with an accent no matter how early they start another language.

So, I'd say, it's not too late. :D

[Nan in Mass]

I have heard the window is for accent, and also that before puberty, children learn more easily by immersion, but afterwards, they learn more easily by a combination of immersion with other more academic ways. I had a friend whose family routinely sent their toddlers back "home" so they would speak Arabic enough that their soft palate hardened into an Arabic-speaking shape rather than an English-speaking shape.
-Nan

[TRVINNH]

I learned German starting in High school for 4 years, and then took Spanish for only 1 year in college. I did a foreign exchange program for 6 weeks where I lived with a family that only spoke Spanish. In the beginning, I tried my best, didn't always succeed at getting my point across, and slipped in German words from time to time when my brain couldn't come up with the Spanish words. Near the end of my 6 week stay, I was surprised to wake up one night dreaming IN SPANISH. So, I'd say go for it and seek out any opportunities to provide immersion once the ground work is laid.

[kdurfee]

My husband is fluent in Spanish. He was in his thirties before he immersed himself in the Pimsleur course and now his accent and dialect are remarkable - most native speakers comment on this.
Not too late!